Every Rose Has It's Thorn
by A. Faime
Summary: In Atlanta looking for his brother Merle, Daryl Dixon sees a girl across the street. Helping her he realizes how alike they are. Rose is a snarky smartass and posseses a dark sence of humor. Haunted by her past she and Daryl are both participating in a constant fight with their inner demons. Rated M- some Non-Con, Violence, Langauge, Sexuality, and Mentions of Child Abuse/Neglect
1. First Impressions Mean Everything

** (In my version I chose to change up a few things.) The first time they got out of the city by using the sewers and coming out on the city limits and walked back to camp. They use the sewers to go back for Merle but find them filling up rapidly with walkers and realize they can't go back that way. When T-Dog left Merle handcuffed on the roof he left him an uploaded gun and a handful of bullets to protect himself from the walkers. But he left it unloaded so he could get away and not be shot by an angry Merle. When Rick, Glenn, T-Dog, and Daryl got back to the rooftop the blood from where Merle chopped off his hand was dry so around a day had passed. **

* * *

The rest of the group had started down the stairs heading for the ground floor. Taking one last look out the window into the street below Daryl noticed movement in the building across from him. That's when he saw her for the first time. A young girl with wavy brown hair and eyes the colour of moonlight. Spotting him she seemed to be having internal conflict on what to do next. Seeming to make up her mind she motioned that she was coming over and disappeared away from the window.

Daryl hurried down the stairs to the ground floor._ "How the hell does she think she's gonna make it through all them walkers?" _he mused arriving at the front window of the boutique. Walkers were pressed up against the glass while more crowded the street. The girl slipped from her building and started darting and weaving through the walkers; setting off firecrackers as she ran away from the shop. "What the fuck is she doing?" Daryl said aloud, opening the now clear front door to see her just a bit down the street running in circles trying to distract the zombies.

Then out of the same building she had exited, a toddler peered out. Seeing the coast was clear he started to run towards Daryl. Only a few walkers remained in the area; one missing its left arm lurched towards the child. Seeing his way cut off the boy tried to turn and run back but tripped and landed hard on the pavement. Raising his crossbow Daryl quickly dispatched the walker going after the child. Hearing the little boy cry out the girl turned to try and save him, only to be knocked to the ground herself by a walker. "I got him, look after yourself." Daryl yelled at the girl, rushing forward to grab the child.

Scooping the young boy up under his arm Daryl booked it back to the open door of the boutique where the rest of the group had gathered. He looked back in time to see the girl drive a hunting knife into the skull of her assailant before jumping up and running towards the group in the boutique.

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Locking the door behind the new girl, the group moved to the back of the shop so as not to heighten the walkers hunger. Reaching out she took the boy from Daryl. "Umm thanks for that. I'm Rose and this is Milo." Shifting uncomfortable, balancing Milo on one hip, the girl subconsciously spun a strand of her hair around her finger. "Was nothin'." Daryl said shrugging.

One by one the others introduced themselves to the newest additions to their group. "So umm… You guys staying here? Wouldn't suggest it myself; the city's completely full of walkers." She said shuffling her feet; her discomfort at being surrounded by strangers clearly evident. "We were looking for someone." Rick explained. "Aren't we all?" Rose replied with a sigh and a sad smile.

"No offence but how the hell did you survive all on your own while caring for a child in this god forsaken city?" T-Dog questioned. "Up until last night I had two others with me helping to protect Milo. We didn't see the need for guns, caused two much noise. But God last night I could have used one. Some Dickwad hick broke through our barriers firing off his gun demanding our remaining supplies. Was good as ringing a dinner bell; the walkers were on us in minutes. He will pay for what he did." The pain and hatred written across Rose's face was clear.

"Merle." Daryl said under his breath. The others shifted uncomfortably, looking anywhere but at Rose. "That's the guy you came looking for isn't it." She said running her fingers through her hair. "The one I just threatened." Shaking her head and swearing under her breath. Shifting Milo again Rose looked down at the floor. "Well hope you find your guy." Turning to leave she was stopped by Daryl stepping in front of her. "You're right he's a Dickwad and I guess you could call him a hick too, but he's also my brother. I'll admit what he did was wrong. Let me at least try to repay you for what he did. Come back to camp with us. We got a bit of food and there's a lil' truth behind safety in numbers."

Glenn and T-Dog stared at Daryl in shock. In the last months they had known him he had never done anything so kind before to their knowledge. Rose bit her lip looking around at the different members of the group. Turning her head to glance back out at the street already filling back up with walkers she nodded slightly. "I think I would like that. I just wish I knew what happened to the other people I was with. I really don't want to leave here in case they come back looking for me." "I don't wanna leave my brother either, but if we stay here those fuckers are eventually gonna bust their way in here and it won't matter if our people come looking for us."

"So where's your guys' transportation?" Rose asked looking from person to person waiting to see who would have the answer. Scuffing his shoe across the floor Glenn spoke up. "Well, we walked in here and barely made it. The walkers have taken to the sewers. We need to find a different way out." Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath Rose stood in silence for a second; opening her eyes a smile playing across her lips. "I think I can help you with that."

* * *

"I lived across the street for two years before this shit all broke out; I came to know the routines of all the people nearby. Kathy worked here in the boutique, she caught her dad sleeping with the neighbor so he bought her a car to keep quiet and not tell her mother. Saw Kathy's body when we came in over by the register. My guess is her cars in the underground parking lot beneath us." Moving back to the front of the store Rose searched the body of her old friend. "Aha there's the little bastard." She jingled the key triumphantly. "I can draw them away but it's gonna be your job to get your asses across the street to the bakery a little ways down the road. The drivers still in there; zombiefied though so watch yourself when you pull him out. But that should mean the keys are still in the truck." It was decided that Glenn would go with Rose in the bait car while the rest made a run for the bakery truck. Kissing Milo on the top of the head Rose passed him to Daryl. "Take care of him for me… and if anything- well you know…" Nodding his head Daryl pulled the kid against his chest and took his knife out of its holster.

Down in the parking lot Glenn got his first look at the bait car. "Wow a Dodge Challenger nice." Snorting Rose shook her head. "It's just a car. Let's just hope it's fast enough." Climbing in the driver's seat Rose revved the engine and rolled up in front of the garage doors. Pushing the automatic door opener she took a deep breath. "Here we go."

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**What do you guys think?**

** I'm not very good at writing first chapters just because its hard at first to figure out how everyone speaks. **

**Leave me a reveiw if you want to see more or if you want to point out any improper grammar/spelling. And if something just doesnt make sense let me know and I will try to fix it. **


	2. Good Cop, Bad Cop

**I know I make Shane out to be a real dick but I just really don't like him at all. He's probably my least favorite character so I tend to make him a real ass in my story.**

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Turning on the cars CD player full blast Rose and Glenn burst out of the parking lot and onto the walker filled streets. "Come on ya fuckers! Come and get me." Screaming and mashing the horn they soon had a large herd pressing in around them. Passing the front of the boutique the rest of the group readied themselves to run like hell. Luring the walkers past the bakery Rose stopped the car in the middle of the street so the walkers wouldn't lose interest. Lurching forward whenever the crowd got to thick Rose kept an eye on the rearview mirror, praying that the others would make it to the van alright.

As soon as the walkers were distracted by the bait car Rick, T-Dog, Daryl and Milo burst through the door. Balancing Milo on his hip with one arm Daryl raised his crossbow and took out one of the remaining walkers that hadn't been led off by Glenn and Rose. "We got to move quickly those bastards won't be kept busy for long." He yelled back over his shoulder at the others. Picking up a shard of metal Rick flung open the vans door. The undead driver tried to grab him but he quickly dispatched it by driving the stake through its head.

Walkers that were being drawn by the noise were filling up the streets behind them. "Brace yourself Glenn." Seeing no other choice Rose threw the car in reverse and slammed into some of the walkers trying to get at the people climbing into the van. Once the last person was in and they had started to drive Rose put the car in gear and left Atlanta in the dust.

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"It's right up here." Glenn indicated; pointing the direction Rose had to turn. The van had a minute or so before them due to Rose and Glenn having some fun doing a bit of joyriding. Pulling up behind it Rose took a deep breath. "Relax its fine. We might not have made it out without you. The group will accept you soon enough." Glenn assured her.

Daryl climbed out of the van still holding Milo. "Well who's this little guy?" Dale inquired stooping down to say hello. Frightened Milo hid his face in Daryl's jacket. "His name's Milo." Rose announced as she timidly entered the edge of camp. Seeing her Milo struggled until Daryl put him down; running towards Rose he clung to her leg while she gently stroked his hair. "If you don't mind me asking who the hell are you?" Shane questioned. "She's a friend. Saved our asses back in Atlanta. Probably wouldn't have gotten out without her." Rick said in her defence. "Got a name girl?" Shane asked still showing signs of outright hostility towards the newcomer. "Rose. And you are…?" she asked, raising her eyebrows as she gestured at him "Rick might I have a word with you?" Shane said; completely brushing off her question.

"We don't know anything about her and you decided to just bring her back to camp. What if she's infected, ever think of that?" Shane protested. "What about Lori, and Carl. What if she's a threat to them? Do you what to risk that?" Shane said before he and Rick moved back to where Rose was standing with Milo and Daryl.

"Now Rose we have a few questions and we need you to answer them truthfully, ok?" Rick said gently. "You ever been bitten, girl?" Shane demanded. "No I haven't. On another note I believe I already told you my name, please use it. I still would like to know yours as well." She snapped back. "How do I know you're telling the truth? I don't know you, why should I trust you at all." At Shane's last sentence Rose threw down the holster slung around her shoulder and started undoing the buttons of her dress. Letting the stained pale blue material drop to the ground she spun in a circle in only her underwear. "Happy? See no bites." Rose's body showed serious signs of abuse over a long period of time; some self-harm and some the work of others. Scars laced most of her body while the black ink of a single name danced across her right shoulder _"Grace." _Swirling across the skin of the inside of her left forearm were the words _"Never Surrender."_

Scooping her dress back up around her shoulders she stared Shane straight in the face while calmly doing up her buttons. "If you two are done interrogating her I would like to find them both some food and figure out where their gonna be sleeping." Daryl said angrily. Putting his hand on her shoulder he led her away to the RV to see what Dale had in way of supplies.

"As far as sleeping goes I can probably make enough room for the boy but there is no way I will have enough room in here for the two of you." Dale said looking around the crowed RV. "I'll be fine outside." Rose stated. "No you can have my tent. The rains are coming and it's not gonna be nice havin' to sleep in a downpour." Daryl said moving around the RV collecting some food and clean clothes for Rose and Milo. "I'm not taking your tent from you. It's completely out of the question, alright." She responded stubbornly. "Might I just point out that your tent, Daryl, is a four person. I figure you two could both use it if you guys are comfortable with that." Dale smiled looking at them each in the eyes to see if they had any protests. Rose scratched the back of her neck, shrugging she looked up at Daryl "I'm okay with it if you are." Not bothering to looking up from grabbing supplies Daryl grunted a reply.

* * *

That night Rose found herself able to relax for once; cuddling Milo she enjoyed the warmth radiating from the fire. When Dale mentioned he should probably add another log to the fire she happily volunteered. Helping Milo climb out of her lap she moved to the other side of the fire where the wood was kept. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Milo made his way over to where Daryl was sitting in a folding canvas chair. Reaching his small arms up he motioned that he wished to be picked up. "I don't think so kid." Daryl said with a laugh. But when Milo's lower lip began to tremble he quickly plucked him off the ground and plopped the child down in his lap. Swearing under his breath he went back to mending the flights on his arrows.

When Rose had settled back on the log she had been sitting on she couldn't hide the smile the crept on to her face at the sight of the grisly, tough-guy, redneck with a toddler quickly falling asleep in his arms. "How old is he?" Daryl asked not bothering to look up; shifting Milo into a more comfortable spot as the child drifted off to dreamland. "Not sure exactly, three is my guess." Rose said nonchalantly. "Wait so you don't even know your own kid's age?" Daryl asked in shock. "He's not mine, I found him in the middle of a walker infested street a couple weeks ago. What surprises me the most was he didn't have a mark on him. I figure his group must have moved on and he got left behind." Rose explained, laughing. "I would ask him his story but he hasn't said a word to anyone since the night I found him. Only reason I know his name because it was written on the inside of his jacket and he responds to it."

"Anyways he doesn't look anything like me; what with his bright blue eyes and blonde hair." Rose giggled as she spun a lock of hair around her finger. "Well I noticed the engagement ring on your finger and with you being so protective over him and all I guess I figured he just took after your fiancé or whoever else is his papa." Daryl commented; noticing the look of hurt flash across her face he wished he could take back mentioning the ring. Spinning it around her finger Rose became lost in memories staring deep into the fire.

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**What do you think? Gave you a little inside info on Rose and Milo and even more of their past will be revealed in the next chapter if I get the reveiws that encourage me to write it. **

**Anythhing that just doesnt make sense? let me know and I will try to clear it up.**


	3. Never Surrender

**Sorry I haven't been posting as much as I would like. I am at end of term in school so I have to get in all my work for marks. My BF and I are moving into a new apartment tomorrow so I have been busy packing and this is also when my boss decided he needs me to work a whole bunch.**

**Things will be easier come Monday so just hold on 'til then J**

**On another note in this version of the story no one has left or died yet. **

**People in camp are: Rick, Carl, Lori, Shane, Glenn, T-Dog (Theodore), Dale, Jacqui, Jim, Daryl, Amy, Andrea, Carol, Sophia, Ed, Morales, Miranda, Louis, Eliza and my OC Rose. **

**As you can probably already tell my favorites to write are Daryl and Dale. I find I tend to make Rick and Shane play good cop, bad cop. I feel I might be making Shane out as the super bad cop and I'm not sure whether that angers people or not. **

**I am really OCD about ****accurac**y so the places mentioned in here are real places I looked up on google maps.

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After a couple of days the group got used to Rose and Milo kicking around camp. While sitting at breakfast one morning Dale started inquiring into what skills Rose possessed. "Used to ride my mom's old mare and shoot apples off the tree with a archery set we made together. I guess I know my way around a knife as well, was all I had to defend myself and others once all this shit started." A slightly sad smile slid across her lips at the memories of long ago. "Mom also taught me all about different edible plants and quite a bit of how to survive in the woods."

Smiling Dale disappeared into the RV. "I knew if I kept it long enough we would eventually come across someone with a knack for archery." He said emerging from the vehicle with a slightly shabby archery set. "Probably will need a new string and you will likely want to make a few more arrows seeing as there are only three here, otherwise it should be good." Smiling, he passed it to Rose who turned it over in her long graceful fingers inspecting every inch of her new weapon. "Thank you so much, Dale. I can make a new string out of some of some rawhide and get to work carving a more few arrows. Then it will be perfect."

* * *

Daryl kept on eye on both Rose and Milo whenever he could; only leaving camp to hunt nearby. Shane was still untrusting of Rose but not as bad as when she had first arrived. Now he only displayed small acts of hostility, such as purposely bumping her or cutting her off while she was speaking. Rose was smart and kept her mouth shut though he could see her itching to make a comment on his behaviour.

Late one afternoon while Daryl was skinning squirrels and Rose was busying herself with collecting kindling around the camps edge, Amy came running down the path. Stopping in front of Rose she had only spoken a few words before Rose had dropped the wood in her arms and was running full speed back the way Amy had come. Heading to where Amy was standing staring after where Rose disappeared to; he spoke. "what did you tell her to make her run like that?" he questioned; making her jump. "I didn't hear you come up, you startled me." She exclaimed. "Oh, and Dale sent me to find her after he got a little girl coming in over the CB; wanted to know if we had a girl named Rosaline here."

Heading up the path to the RV with Amy they arrived to see Rose sitting sideways in the passenger seat clutching the CB's mic waiting for a reply. "Faith...? Are you there… It's Rosie." After a few moments of static a young female voice sounded through the speakers. "Rose! I knew you would make it. You always survive." Laughing, near tears, Rose clutched the mic to her chest before raising it to speak with the one voice she had been praying every night to hear again. "Faith, where are you?" "A little farm house outside the city." The voice replied. "Which direction is the city? Actually let me speak to Jeff, you were never a very good navigator." Rose teased, reaching around the RV grabbing maps and her newly made over bow. Silence filled the air before the little girl replied. "Rose…." Rose's hands stilled; closing her eyes she took a few deep breaths. "Are there any road signs around? I have some maps that might help." She continued.

"Rose there were so many of them – I tried to save him – but – I just couldn't. We were right at the edge of the city… almost to safety" the sound of tears sounded over the speakers. "Faith - I know you tried. It's okay…" Choosing not to mention how no place was truly safe, she continued to grab supplies. "Jeff saved me, one of those undead freaks was trying now nom me and Jeff pulled him off." Rose's body stilled completely. "Faith, were you bitten?" she said in an eerily calm voice." "Ya, but it's not bad, he barely got me." Moving the bag she was packing off her lap. Rose rested her head in her hands, covering her face. After sitting for a few moments in silence Faith's voice came over the line. "That's how it's transferred, right. And now I'm gonna become one of those undead freaks." A sobbing laugh could be heard from the speaker following the last word.

"I'm so sorry. I promised mom I would give you a better life. I promised to protect you. I'm so sorry…" Rose sobbed; though no tears leaked from her expressive silver eyes. "Is Milo with you?" Faith's voice sounded husky with tears. "Ya, he's here." The child in question had been playing quietly on the grass near the RV under Dale's watchful eyes before he grew curious of the crowd and had wandered over to stand between Daryl and Jim.

"Hey, Milo. You have a really important job to do, okay. You need to take care of Rose for me. You have to make sure she eats, she reminded me of a scarecrow last time I saw her. And don't let her get into trouble, I remember one time she decide to pick a fight with a guy three times her size; I don't like the thought of grown men crying like babies." A small giggle erupted from Rose's hidden face as the memory flashed into her mind. "Most importantly, Milo, You have to love her. She likes to pretend that's an impossible feat. She sometimes lashes out with hateful words but you have to remember she has been hurt before." Milo smiled. Walking up to the open door of the RV, he reached up to take Rose's hand. Though he didn't speak he could understand when people spoke to him.

"I love you Faith. You should go get some sleep. If you want you can try the CB again in the morning." Rose knew that by morning her sister would be dead and a walker would be inhabiting her shell. "I love you too, Rose. I'll say "hi" to mom and Grace for you." The last words faded out to static. Placing the mic back in its holder Rose stepped around Milo and silently walked off into the woods.

* * *

Long past dark Rose emerged from the forest. Dirty streaks down her face and puffy eyes were the only proof that she had grieved for the loss of those close to her. Settling silently down by the fire she stared into the flames for a few minutes before breaking the silence of the circle. "Jeff had a habit of saving people. I used to joke with him about how that would be his death. He saved me when I was eighteen. I was living on the streets of Atlanta stealing food and sleeping in abandon warehouses. Insisted on buying me lunch one day and then it became a habit. Every day he would come find me at on the edge of the woods by the shopping center and take me to The Sunflower Café on Peachtree road. After a while I grew to trust him and eventually took up his offer to come stay with him in his apartment a little ways down the road." A weak smile flitted across her face in remembrance of happier times.

"He helped me to turn my life around and encouraged me to finish school. He even insisted he pay for me to go get a degree in the career of my choice. We were going to get married soon. Jeff was an immigrant from France on a workers Visa. When we found out it was going to expire and couldn't be renewed until he returned to France for a year; so he asked me to marry him so he could stay here to take care of me." Touching the ring on her finger she continued with her story. "When I had the chance to adopt Faith he was all for it and made arrangements to move into a three bedroom apartment so I wouldn't have to bunk with her."

Breaking the group's silence, Andrea spoke. "You slept in a different room then your fiancé?" Rose laughed. "I guess I totally forgot a pretty important part. Jeff was playing for the other team if you know what I mean." Raised eyebrows and open mouths were shown all around. "So, your fiancé was gay?" Andrea questioned. "How does that work out?" Her mind struggling to understand how such a situation came into being. "They were going to deport him and so we decided to get married and hope no one ratted us out. Me and Jeff had lived together for the last four or so years. We didn't want to be separated." Everyone sat quietly absorbing the news before one by one drifting off to bed.

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**Here come the hateful reviews lol. Sorry it had to be done. **

**Let me know what you think. **

**Until next time.**

**A. Faime**


	4. Screamin' My Name

Late into the night Daryl woke suddenly. Glancing around, he noticed the cause of his awakening. Rose was trashing in her sleep, tears leaking from her clenched eyes. Rolling from under his blankets he leaned over the girl and gently shook her. "Hey, Rose, it's okay. Come on. Wake up." Pulling out of her nightmare Rose panicked seeing the shadowy figure leaning over her. "Please don't. I didn't mean it. I'm sorry. Please don't hurt me." She begged, sobbing hysterically. "Shuu… Hunny, it's me, Daryl. Shhh… no one's gonna hurt ya."

Realizing she was safe Rose threw her arms around Daryl's neck, dragging him down on top of her. Surprised by her actions he stiffened at her touch. Understanding her need to just be comforted he rolled over pulling her against his chest. Gently running his hands over her back and through her hair he murmured nonsense to her. The warmth of Daryl's body against her own combined with his kind action eventually relaxed the girl. Tilting her head up to look at him she realized something that made her blush; the night had been warm and she had stripped down to her lacy, black, boy cut, panties and a tank top to keep cool. When Daryl had pulled her into his arms he had dragged the light blanket she had been under off, exposing her.

Embarrassed she reached over and quickly covered herself with it again. "Uhh… thanks." She muttered, hiding her beet red face. "No problem." He whispered. Rose could hear the smile in his voice. "Bad dreams?" he questioned as Rose pulled away from him, returning to the spot in the tent she had previously occupied. "Uhh... Ya" She muttered, uncomfortable with where this conversation might be going. Seeing this Daryl choose to let her be; rolling onto his side he said goodnight.

* * *

Not half an hour had passed when he felt Rose's arm dart out and grab his own. "Daryl!" she cried out. "I'm right here Hun." Sighing he pulled his covers off. "Come here." Unsure of what he wanted Rose hesitated. "I won't bite. But I figure you might feel a bit better if you can tell I'm still here." He shrugged. "I'm not gonna force you but I would like to get a bit of sleep tonight so if you're gonna keep spazzing out this might at least stop you from screaming my name." he laughed. "Wouldn't want to give the rest of the group the wrong idea now would we?"

Settling against Daryl's chest and pulling a light blanket over the two of them, Rose took a deep breath. "Thanks… For everything. Me and Milo were out of food and had barely any water left. If you hadn't showed up we would have both been goners." "Like I said before was nothing. Anyways you were the one to get us out of that god forsaken hellhole." Daryl carefully placed his arm around her stomach, being cautious to not let it stray into more private areas. Bidding each-other goodnight they both fell into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

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By the time Rose awoke the next morning Daryl was gone. Pulling her tank top off, she groped around in her bag for her bra and put it on before dragging a button up shirt across her shoulders. A scream broke through the quite of the morning. Yanking the tent flap open she stumbled out, knife in hand.

Squinting in the bright light she tried to locate the source of the noise. "The fuck is going on?" she yelled. Andrea burst into laughter. "There was a huge ass spider in Amy's hair. She totally freaked the fuck out." Looking down at her half-dressed self, Rose became aware that she was standing outside her and Daryl's tent in only her underwear and an open shirt. "Next time someone better be dying if they scream like that." She announced before retreating to finish getting dressed. Rose sweared under her breath at the round of laughter outside, as the majority of the group had seen the incident.

Outside the group chatted amongst themselves while completing their daily chores. Lori, Carol, and Andrea were washing dishes by the RV when Rose had burst out. "I remember when I looked that good; of course that was before I had Carl." Lori commented "I never even had kids and I never looked like that." Andrea said, bursting into laughter.

* * *

Raising his crossbow daryl aimed at a large rabbit, taking a deep breath he twitched his finger on the trigger. The twang of a bow sounded behind him and the rabbit he had tracked for twenty minutes was speared with an arrow. Spinning around to see who had taken his kill he was surprised to see Rose sliding down the embankment towards him. "Hey, Dale said that I should come help you hunt." She said cheerfully, running up to the bunny and yanking her arrow from its carcase. "Tracked you all the way here. Haven't done that in years. Took me awhile, you step pretty light." She rambled, following Daryl as he looked for another animal to track. "If you're gonna keep yammering we aren't gonna get anymore kills today so either clam up or head back to camp." He snapped.

Rose fell silent beside him, he knew he had been too rough on the girl but he was in a bad mood. When he had awoken in the morning to her in his arms he was sure he was still dreaming. Realizing he wasn't, it also dawned on him that even though she would let him hold her it didn't mean she wanted any more than that. She had only wanted him for comfort and safety, nothing more.

"Squirrel above us." Daryl said, changing the subject. Raising her bow Rose took it out and added it to the bag containing the rabbit.

When Rose and Daryl returned to camp in the late afternoon they had killed four squirrels, two rabbits, and large crow. Rose dropped the meat off with Lori and Amy before heading down to the water to wash the blood and dirt off her hands. Carol and Andrea were doing the laundry with Miranda when Rose approached. Kneeing down next to them she dipped her dirty hands in the water and started scrubbing.

Hearing someone approach Rose shifted to see who it was. _"Ed." _She thought to herself, happy to be able to remember some of their names, it was a big group but she was a fast learner. She had an inert distrust of men, but she felt this man might be one of the people that justified her fears. She knew men like that and what they were capable of.

He stood and watched them work before walking over to Carol. "It's time to go. Get up." Ed yanked on her arm. Wincing, Carol stumbled up. "I'm busy right now I'll be there soon." She said, pulling her arm out of his grasp. Grabbing her he started to drag her back towards their tent while she cried out in pain. "You will listen when I tell you something and I said its time to go." He growled.

Before he knew what was happening Rose was on top of him. Knocking him to the ground she started punching him in the face. "She doesn't have to do anything for you." Rose snarled, bashing his head into the ground. Pushing off him she moved to help Carol up off the ground where she had fallen in the fight. Though Carol was slightly scared of what Ed might do to her later. She felt a little safer knowing someone as small as Rose could defend herself from someone as big as Ed. _"Maybe she can teach me to protect myself."_ She thought to herself. "Come on Carol lets go help with super." Rose said, slipping her arm around the woman and leading her back up the hill. Ed lay still on the ground until the two were gone, rising he disappeared into his tent for the rest of the night.

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**Hi everybody. So My BF and I are all moved into my new place and it's wonderful. I don't have internet until Friday so I packed my computer up and took it to the town over to steal wifi from Starbucks to post this for you. I am already partway through the next chapter so it should be up within the next few days depending on whether I want to drag my computer back up here again or just wait til Friday. **

**Until next time.**

**A. Faime**


	5. Candy is Dandy

**Never trust a repair man. When they say Friday they really mean "oh you'll get internet Saturday, maybe Monday, oh hey look it will be here in time for Christmas… maybe." The worst part is both me and my BF are rarely home so it's super sucky when they don't even know what day their coming because one of us have to make plans around it. **

**Okay enough of my ranting. On to other things.**

**So when I took my ipod to starbucks today to check my email I had 27 emails. Not being very popular I was like WTF. Opening them I realized a very vast majority was from you awesome people leaving comments, following my stories, and favoring them. It made me smile like a dufus in the middle of the coffee shop. **

**Lov3 you guys. **

**Now on with the next chapter. **

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News of Rose and Ed's disagreement reached Daryl by early evening. The sun had just set over the mountains in a brilliant display of colour. "Hey, Dale, did ya see where Rose went?" he hollered up to Dale. Perched up on the top of the RV Dale could see for quite a ways around the camp. "Last I saw she was heading down towards the bottom of the quarry." He yelled back.

Nodding his thanks he headed down the beaten track to the water's edge. Rose stood amongst the horsetails with her back to Daryl. He stayed silent waiting to see what she was doing. Her hands were moving in front of herself, though from Daryl's position he couldn't see what for. It wasn't until her button up shirt slipped from her shoulders and drifted to the ground did he realize that she had come here to wash herself. Unable to tear his eyes away, though he knew he should leave, he watched as she stepped out of her jeans. While she was bent over she paused, Daryl was certain she had seen him, barely concealed by the high bushes it wouldn't have been hard even in the gathering dusk. But in seconds she had continued undressing until she was bare before him.

While she was wading out into the water, Daryl made to slip away unbeknown to the girl. "I don't give a free show you know." She said turning in the water, the light waves gently lapping her neck. Daryl swore and twisted back to face her. "Look Rose, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. That was pretty dumb of me." He swore again, angry at being caught but more so that at himself for being such an idiot and not either leaving right away or announcing his presence. "I just wanted to check you were okay, I heard about what happened between you and Ed. Fuck I'm sorry." "It was sweet of you to come make sure I was okay." She smiled. "Though I think he might have gotten the brunt of the damage." Rose and Daryl laughed, they both knew that Ed had only gotten a small taste of his own medicine and no one could complain about that.

"So like I was saying I don't give a free show Daryl Dixon. You now owe me a favour that I can redeem at any moment. Deal?" She asked, cocking her head to the side, a smile dancing across her lips. "Sounds fair to me." He couldn't help laughing, he never knew what to expect from this girl. "I would shake on it, but I think you have seen enough for one night." Rose giggled, her hair floating around her like a curtain. Daryl grimaced at her statement. "I'll ah... see you back at camp." He jerked his finger over his shoulder in the general direction of where they were staying. Nodding Rose turned away and slipped under the mirror like surface of the water.

* * *

When Rose returned to the tent Daryl was already laying down. Opening his eyes he saw her kneeling beside him. "What?" he asked, frowning. She looked so nervous and something else, though he couldn't place exactly what. The best way Daryl could describe it was innocence. She looked so young and scared in this moment. He suddenly realized what her eyes were asking, though her mouth hadn't said a word. Daryl pulled back his covers smiling up at the pretty, young girl. Rose offered a sweet, sheepish smile, and climbed into his arm. She nuzzled into his neck, sighing with contentment. Daryl buried his face in her sweet smelling hair and thought to himself._ "Even if this is all that ever happens between us I would be okay with that. So what if she only wants me for safety and security. Just to hold her every night would be enough."_

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The next morning Rose and Carol were doing the dishes after breakfast, when Daryl arrived back from his early morning hunt. He had come into contact with a walker and his shirt was streaked with its blood. Rose watched him as she poured warm water from a jug into a large basin. Daryl dragged his shirt off, muscles rippling slightly over his slim frame. Carol's hand darted out and grabbed the jug from her hands. Distracted Rose had completely overflowed the basin and now the water was dripping all over the picnic table. "Oh shit, sorry." Rose blushed profusely. Carol just smiled, brushing away her apologies.

Finishing up everyone headed over to where Rick was gathering the group. "We need some more supplies. Do I have any volunteers to do a run?" Rick asked looking around at the group. "I'll go." Glenn announced. "Me too." Rose smiled; she had wanted to get out of camp for a while now. Hunts helped ease her restlessness but this would be even better. Daryl quickly agreed to go as well. Rick said he would accompany the group as well, leaving the rest of the group to guard the camp.

They decided to go check out some farm houses down the road to see what they could scavenge from them. Rick and Glenn were preparing Daryl's truck while he got on his motorcycle. "You comin' with me? Or are ya gonna go squish in between Rick and Glenn?" he asked her, motioning towards the back of his bike. Rose bit her lip; she had never been on a motorcycle before and was a little freaked out by it. "I promise I won't let you fall off." He teased her. Making up her mind she slung her leg over the bike. Reaching behind himself Daryl softly grasped Rose's hands and guided them around to his chest. "You gotta hold on tight, 'k."

Daryl felt Rose tense when the bike roared to life. Reaching down he soothingly stroked her leg to reassure her she would be okay. Pushing off he heard Rose squeak over the thunder of the motor as she tightened her grip, burying her face into the back of his jacket.

After a few minutes Rose had relaxed enough to look around. The countryside was flying by, while Rose's long brown hair whipping around her face; leaning forward her lips brush against Daryl's ear. "It kinda feels like how I imagine flying feels." She said laughing. Daryl smiled. At times Rose acted so tough and hardened, but underneath was this sweet, innocent, wild creature. He felt kinship to her in these times. He knew what it was like having to hide the real you.

Pulling up to the first house Daryl and Rose swept the place with their bows looking for any walkers. Finding none, Rose ran out onto the porch to wave in Rick and Glenn. Heading to the kitchen, Rose found Daryl munching on a bag of Skittles. "Want some?" he offered the bag to Rose. She leaned forward pinning Daryl to the counter. Running her hands up his chest and onto his shoulders she moved closer still, tilting her head up until she was inches from his mouth. In one quick movement Rose reached over his shoulder and grabbed a bottle of tequila from the shelf behind him. "Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker. " She quoted, breaking into a bout of giggles at his expression.

Still laughing Rose wandered to the far end of the kitchen and started rummaging through the contents of the closest cupboard, pausing every once in a while to take a shot from her tequila bottle. When Rick entered the room Rose turned and hid the alcohol behind her back. "Hi, Officer Rick." She said with a huge smile on her lips. "Umm… Hi, Rose." Rick frowned, shaking his head he kept walking to go search the living room for supplies.

After a few hours of looting houses the raiding group decided they had enough to return to camp. Rose stashed her alcohol in the back of the pickup truck before drifting over to Daryl. "Ready to go?" she questioned. Slightly tipsy Rose stumbled forward knocking into Daryl's chest. "Opps, sorry." She giggled. Daryl snorted; this girl could not hold her liquor. Then again she had polished off a good quarter of the bottle. Nodding at Rick to signal they were going Daryl swung his leg over the bike. Rose clambered on behind him, lacking grace in her drunken state. Looping her arms around his waist she rested her cheek on his back.

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**I really enjoyed writing this chapter, especially the kitchen scene. Would love to hear what you guys thought about it. **

**I have the next chapter written but I am making you wait a day or so before I post it. **


	6. 1 Tequila, 2 Tequila, 3 Tequila, Floor

**The reason I didn't want to post this chapter is because I kinda hate it. The flow feels all wrong and it just feels so forced. This is important information that needs to be said at this time for the story to go on. I really hope you guys keep reading because it's going to get better after this. **

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As soon as Rose got back to camp Milo came running and threw himself into her arms. "Hey, bud. Have you been good while I was gone?" Rose said scooping him off the ground and cuddling him close. "He's such a little angel." Carol smiled. "He and Sophia were making daisy chains most of the afternoon." She explained running her hands threw her daughters hair. Milo held up a slightly crushed daisy chain for Rose to admire. "Wow Milo, that's amazing. You did that all by yourself?" Rose cooed; bending down so he could place it on her head like a crown. "Aww thanks hunny. It's beautiful." Rose said rising, smiling down at the young boy.

"Want to come make some more with us?" Sophia chimed in; looking hopefully up at Rose. She had heard the grownups talking about how she had taught her daddy a lesson and decided she like the woman. "I would like that." Rose said, waving goodbye over her shoulder to Carol; being pulled along by Milo and Sophia over to the daisy patch where Louis and Eliza were sitting.

* * *

By evening Rose had managed to sneak her tequila into an empty water bottle so the rest of the group sitting around the fire in a big circle wouldn't notice. She had a feeling Rick wouldn't let her keep it if he found out. Rose's hair was full of the daisies the children had braided in. Since the kids didn't know her last name, and Rose preferred to keep it that way they had started calling her "Miss Rose" out of respect to her. She was one of the only grownups that would play with them down in the dirt; the others always said they were too busy.

Putting Milo down to sleep in the RV, Rose made her way back to the warmth of the campfire. She had just settled in her folding chair when Sophia ran up. "I wanted to say goodnight, and thank you for playing with us, Miss Rose." She said throwing herself into Rose's arms. "Aww. You're welcome, Sophia. We will have to play again soon. Have sweet dreams." She said hugging the small girl back. Carol smiled at Rose from the edge of the fire, silently thanking her. Sophia had really enjoyed the time they had spent together, all the children had. It was good to see them smiling again.

Carol returned to the fire after tucking Sophia in. She chose to sit down in the seat beside Rose, instead of the one beside her husband. Ed glared at Rose with hatred in his eyes. How he saw it was this crazy-ass chick had just showed up out of nowhere and now she was stealing his wife and kid. Standing he wandered off away from the fire, not wanting to see her anymore.

Carol and Rose had started to chat, not even noticing the disappearance of Ed. "The children simply adore you." Carol gushed, placing her hand on Rose's arm "You just need to know how to speak their language. Me, I just never grew up so I still speak kid I guess. If I think it will be fun the kids will have fun doing it too." Rose explained, shrugging. "You would be a good parent. It's no wonder Milo latched onto you." Carol flattered. Rose frowned slightly. "I almost was one once. Got pregnant when I was pretty young, only fifteen. I panicked and made an appointment to get an abortion. Something changed my mind though and I called them and cancelled. Not that it mattered, ended up miscarrying that night." She explained, staring at her lap. Reaching down she picked up her "water" bottle and took a big swig.

Feeling uncomfortable with bringing such old wounds to the surface, Carol gently stroked Rose's arm. "Maybe it wasn't in God's plan for you to have a child right then. You never know what He has in store for us." Changing the subject she chose to instead question Rose on what supplies they had picked up at the farmhouses.

"Hey Rose, what kind of job did you have before the world went to shit?" Morales called across the circle. "I worked nights as a waitress, but I was in school to become an elementary school teacher." She yelled back. Sitting on Rose's right Daryl snorted with laughter. "What the fuck is your problem?" she questioned, trying to keep her face serious, though a smile played under her features. "You have a pretty bad mouth for teaching kids." Daryl said laughing. "I may have a bad mouth, but I know how to do some good things with it." She teased him, saying it only loud enough for him to hear.

"Oye Glenn, what do ya got there?" Rose asked, moving over to where he was sitting with an old Gibson guitar sitting on his lap. "Dale had it in his camper. Wondered if I could play." He replied. "Well can you?" Rose questioned, plunking down on a nearby log. "Ah….no." he admitted, looking a little embarrassed. "I could teach you, Jeff taught me. Hell if I could learn anyone can." She laughed. "I'd like that." He said passing the guitar over to the girl. Placing it in her lap she cracked her fingers. "It's been a while now so I might be a little rusty." She said; hair failing around her face as she carefully tuned the old thing.

"Well that's as tuned as she'll get by ear." Rose said, playing a little melody to test it out. "Sing us a song, Rose." Dale called over. Rose smiled, a little embarrassed by all the attention. Taking a deep breath she started to sing, strumming along. _"I hurt myself  
today, to see if I still feel. I focus on the pain, the only thing that's real." _ Rose's hair had fallen out of her hair tie and was now tumbling all around her. Wisps of it blew gently about her in the evening breeze. Daryl found himself thinking about how angelic she looked, sitting there in the glowing light of the fire. He marveled at beautiful sound tumbling from her lips_. "What have I become, my sweetest friend. Everyone I know goes away in the end." _

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Later into the night Amy and Andrea started fighting. "I'm not a child; you don't have to watch my every move." Amy whined. "I'm your older sister. I promised mom and dad I would take care of you." Andrea shot back. Rose stayed quite; she had had this fight before with Faith and knew that both sides were at least partly right. "You used to be so fun." Amy wailed, anger distorting her pretty face. "The world is different now kiddo, life as we knew it doesn't exist anymore." Andrea begged Amy to understand that she didn't want to be the bad guy that she just wanted to keep her little sister safe.

"God, why are you being so grumpy lately? Got something jammed up your ass or what?" Amy asked, trying not to laugh. "Or do you just really need to get laid." She teased. Andrea burst into laughter. "Probably, it's been what… eight months for me." Andrea couldn't help but giggle. "What about you little sister?" "Like six months or so. Just before we left for the road trip." Amy replied. "With who?!" Andrea wracked her brain trying to remember if Amy had a boyfriend before they left or not. The way that girl went through boys made it hard to tell. "Greg Summers." Amy hid her face in her hands to hide her blush. "The boy that worked in the auto shop on Fifth Avenue? Really he was always was covered in so much grease and smelt so strongly of cheese." Andrea snickered.

Looking up Andrea noticed Rose watching the exchange. "What about you, hun? When was the last time you got some action?" she said, doing a little air hump. Rose stared at the ground a blush creeping across her features. "Ahh… well … umm." She stammered. Andrea's mouth opened in shock. Her eyes darted over to where Daryl was standing a few feet away. "No!" Rose quickly reassured her; raising her arms up, open palm, in a defensive action, trying to assure her that none of what she was thinking had happened. Seeing the women staring at him Daryl wandered over to where they were standing. "Tell me." Andrea begged, wanting to know that someone had gone longer without sex then her.

"Umm… well… I'm not exactly experienced in that field." Rose explained. "What do you mean? You were pregn-." Andrea cut herself off mid-sentence realizing what she meant. "You mean... Oh my god Rose. I'm so sorry. I didn't know." Andrea felt so guilty. "That explains so much." Andrea said. Rose just shrugged, tipping back her bottle. "And yet, life goes on, living in the past destroys your future." Rose explained. "Think I'm gonna turn in for the night if that's all right with you guys." She said with a half-hearted smile. Andrea and Amy nodded goodnight while Daryl assured her he would be in soon.

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**So ya how bad was it?**

**BTW the song Rose sings is Hurt by Johnny Cash. **


	7. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

**Hey guys, thanks for all the positive reviews. Sorry I haven't been writing much, have a lot of stuff on my plate right now. **

**I think I can say I am addicted to Norman Reedus. I know more about him then I probably should. I have watched both the Boondock Saints movies more times than I would like to admit. He looks so young but still so sexy. The best part is my boyfriend doesn't complain because he loves all the action and funny jokes throughout the movies. **

**(in case anyone didn't figure out what was being said in the last chapter, Rose was raped at 15 and got prego)**

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As promised Daryl came to bed only a few minutes after Rose had retired for the night. Climbing in the small tent he noticed Rose had already curled up in a ball facing away from where he normally slept. Sighing he kicked off his boots and flopped down on the thin foam camping mattress. He wondered to himself whether she would sleep like that the whole night. Though he would never admit it to anyone, he had come to enjoy the feeling of her in his arms.

After laying in silence for a few minutes Rose rolled over to face Daryl. "So when was your last time?" She questioned suddenly; her mood seeming to have completely changed. Taken back by her unexpected question all he could do was laugh. "I haven't really had any memorable events." He admitted. "What, an attractive guy like you should be able to score lots of ass." Rose teased. A bitter laugh escaped Daryl's lips. "Only chicks that ever wanted me have been either shit-face drunk, or paid." He confessed. "So you think I'm attractive?" Daryl said, changing the subject. He adored teasing her because he always knew when he got a reaction. Though he couldn't see it in the darkness he knew he had made her blush.

In retaliation Rose tipped her head up and nipped at his throat, biting hard enough to leave a mark. She flicked out her tongue to trace the wound softly with the tip. A quite moan escaped Daryl's lips at the sensation of her warm mouth against his skin. Rose leaned back to admire her work, glancing up her eyes locked with her victims. Daryl's breath was coming in short gasps, the small amount of moonlight filtering through the tents canvas highlighting Rose's delicate features leaving him once again with thoughts of how saintly she looked.

Before his brain could process what was happening, Rose had tipped her head up and gently pressed her lips to his own. Daryl marvelled at the softness of her lips, he couldn't help but wonder how rough his own were in comparison. The harsh Georgia sun had left them feeling dry and cracked. Returning the kiss, Daryl gently pushed her down onto her back so that he was on top of her. Rose retorted by deepening the kiss and running her hands threw his short hair. She opened her mouth to him when he ran his tongue across her lower lip. Daryl slipped his warm tongue into Rose's mouth and began slowly, yet fiercely, fighting for dominance. It was then he realized what she tasted like. The sharp, bitter taste of tequila still lingered on her breath.

Pulling away from Rose in disgust, Daryl felt sick to his stomach. Whimpering slightly at the sudden disappearance of the warm body above her, Rose reached up to pull Daryl back down. Daryl pushed her hands away, grabbing his boots he made to leave. "Wait—where are you going?" Rose asked, scrambling to get up. "What the fuck is your problem?" she yelled after him. Daryl didn't say a word, just slipped off into the night.

Curling back up into a little ball, Rose waited for dawns light.

* * *

When the sun was enough above the horizon for the rest of the camp to be awake, Rose began the menial task of dressing herself. Daryl hadn't returned in the night. She knew he was angry with her, why shouldn't he have been. She threw herself at him. He probably hated her now. Pissed with herself Rose tried to hide her pain at being rejected by putting on smile as she excited the tent.

Lori and Miranda were starting on breakfast. Taking pots and pans out of the RV and building up the small cooking fire. Dale sat perched on the top of his RV with a shotgun balanced across his lap. From dawn 'til dusk he was normally up there keeping watch over the camp. Just as Rose was taking a deep breath, telling herself that everything was okay, Daryl walked back into camp. Slung over his shoulder were the carcasses of squirrels and rabbits. He had been hunting for quite a while to get such a large haul.

In that split second their eyes met. Rose's eyes were wide with questions while Daryl's shaded all emotion. Turning his back on her, he threw the meat down on the table. Rose felt as if her heart was shattering. He didn't bother to look at her when he wandered over to speak with Rick. Rose squared her shoulders and stalked by to the RV to grab her bow. Without a second glance or a word to anyone she headed off into the woods.

A couple minutes after she had left Milo stumbled out of the RV, rubbing his eyes he looked around the camp clearly trying to find someone. "She went out for a bit, bud." Dale called down to the young boy. "I'm sure she will be back soon. How about you go find Sophia and play something. Make sure to stay where I can see you though, okay?" Dale had witnessed the whole ordeal this morning and couldn't help but feel bad for Milo, he had become so attached to both of them and now it seemed that the two people the toddler had attached himself to were having trouble getting along.

Milo nodded his little blonde head before wandering over to where Sophia had just emerged from her family's tent.

* * *

Rose arrived back at camp when the sun had just hit its highest point in the sky. Entering camp heads turned as people noticed she was dragging the carcase of a scrawny coyote behind her. Milo jumped up as soon as he saw her and threw himself into her arms. "Hey buddy." She greeted, hoisting the coyote up so it wouldn't hit the boy. The smile on her face felt plastic, fake, and crude.

Rose found a flat rock looking out over the quarry and began to skin her kill. She couldn't help but laugh when T-Dog came up to her with Milo bouncing along on his back. "Miss Rose, I'm gonna take the kids down to the water to cool off. Wanted to make sure you were okay with Milo going, seeing as you're the closest thing to his momma." He smiled genuinely. Rose nodded her head. "That's fine Theodore. Be safe." T-Dog turned and started heading down the hill, Milo turned halfway on his back to wave goodbye.

Finishing up Rose headed over to the RV, which had become a sort of home base to the group. Placing the meat to the side for cooking she wandered over to where Glenn and Rick were chatting. "If we ever want to get out of here we are going to need fuel." Glenn explained. "I think that we should check out that tanker, you never know we might get lucky." Glenn wanted to go down the road to the last truck stop. When they had first come up to the quarry they had noticed a tanker truck parked near the fueling stations at a small gas pump. The pump wouldn't work without electricity, but there was still a chance the tanker hadn't unfueled and could be siphoned.

"It's too risky Glenn. That place was crawling with walkers the last time we were there." Rick argued. "They might have wandered off by now." Glenn shot back. "Rick, it is gonna be risky but I think it's worth a try. Even if we just scout it out first. Keep our distance until we know what we are dealing with." Rose added in. With two against one Rick finally admitted defeat. "So then it's settled, I'll go get my stuff ready." Glenn announced. "Hold on, I'm coming too. You'll need someone to watch your back out there." Rose said, grabbing her archery set off the picnic table.

"We'll set out in 15 minutes 'k" Rose said realizing she hadn't eaten since the night before. Picking up a bucket of mushrooms Amy collected started shifting through. "Hey Amy." She called out to the young blonde sitting nearby. "Ya!" she yelled back cheerfully. "You do know eighty present of the mushrooms in here are poisonous, right?" she asked flicking dangerous shrooms onto the ground. "I think I'm gonna have to give you all some lessons in what to eat or someone's gonna just drop dead." She teased, selecting a couple chanterelles to accompany her roasted squirrel.

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**Chanterelles grow up here in B.C but I'm not sure whether they do in Georgia. Sorry for not having a vast knowledge of mushrooms growing about the world. I just know what to eat here at home. **


	8. What's this Normal You Speak Of?

**Sorry been busy coming up to the holidays; updates are gonna be infrequent for the next little while. Follow the story to get updates as soon as there up. **

**So I looked up how to unload a tanker truck and they use air pressure to pump it out but I figure you could get at least half out with gravity alone. Anyways it's just a story so whatever.**

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She had tried not to notice that when she had left to find food Daryl had made his way up to Rick and started an argument. She could only hear snippets of what they were saying. But from what she had gathered Daryl had wanted to accompany them and Rick had refused him saying they needed man power to stay at camp. Rose waited until Daryl had stormed off towards his camp before she went back to the picnic table.

Slinging her quiver over her shoulder, bow in hand; she approached Rick. "Let's get going. Faster we get there the sooner we can get back here." She stated impatiently. "Hold your horses. We just want to take one more look at the map before you head out. Maybe there's a better way of doing this." Rick said, indicating the map in front of him. Sighing Rose leaned over to study the yellowing piece of paper. "We'll come down from the south road; the road splits in two over there. We'll have an escape route if we run into trouble there's exits to the north-east and to the north." She said methodically pointing out each route and tracing its course back to camp.

"Stay safe." Rick said patting Glenn on the back before climbing up on the RV to watch the two young people walk off into the distance.

* * *

The walk to the fueling station took a little over half an hour. Both Glenn and Rose had felt no need to converse on the walk once Glenn made the mistake of asking her how her sleep was. In response Rose just sped up the pace. Turning the last bend on the hard dirt road they got their first look at what they were up against. From where she was standing Rose could see only a few walkers milling about around the pump and tanker. Raising her bow she shot them down from a distance.

"This is it? Well this will be easy." Glenn said cheerfully, hurrying ahead towards the tanker truck. Rose followed behind a little more hesitantly, stopping to yank her arrows out of the dead on her way. Keeping her bow ready in her hand she turned in a circle checking all sides while Glenn popped the cap on the truck. "Fuck ya baby! We got fuel!" he whooped. "Shut the fuck up and slowly turn around." Rose hissed. Glenn stopped his reveling; something in her voice had seemed off to him. Turning around he saw what was upsetting the girl. "Oh fuck." He whispered. "Ya, you could say that." She murmured back.

Shambling towards them, the closest at about twenty feet away, was a herd of walkers. "Glenn, I want you to start making your way up the north-east road, okay?" Rose said calmly, slinging her bow around her body. "Glenn, go now!" she urged when he remained still in shock. "I'll be right behind you, now go!" she said with finality, pushing him towards the road. Glenn took off at a run. Some of the walkers changed their course to follow him while the rest continued their staggering gait towards Rose and the tanker.

Once Glenn was far enough away she reached up and yanked the long sleeve off her shirt. "I liked this shirt." She mumbled to no one in particular. While watching the approaching walkers out of the corner of her eye, she quickly stuffed the end of the sleeve in the tankers pipe and lit the other end with a disposable lighter from her pocket.

* * *

Back at camp things were going as normal as normal could be in this god forsaken, post-apocalyptic world. The children were splashing around with T-Dog in the shallows while the women washed the laundry. The men were doing various tasks around camp, trying to make things run as smoothly as possible.

When the explosion sounded it ricochet throughout the quarry making it hard to pinpoint the source. It wasn't 'til the thick, black, smoke and roaring fireball appeared over the treetops were they assured where it came from. Pandemonium struck the camp, mothers ran to their children while the men shouted at each other to get everyone to gather at the RV.

"Pack up anything important, we don't know what happened down there. But with an explosion that loud walkers are gonna be drawn here in no time. We gotta leave now!" Rick announced. "What about Glenn and Miss Rose?" Sophia voiced, holding Milo's hand while her mother clutched her other. The nervously chattering group grew silent to hear Rick's response. "We won't leave them behind. They'll be back soon." Rick assured her. Ed snorted; if the girl didn't come back then he would chalk this up as a good day. Hell didn't matter to him none if the Asian didn't come back either, was an annoying little sneaky fuck and always was jumping at his own shadow.

* * *

Twenty minutes later everything of value was packed and ready to go. The only things not accountable for were Glenn and Rose. Rick was making futile attempts at stalling, while Shane bitched at him to get going. "The longer we wait the more danger you're putting us in." he roared at Rick. Dale called from the RV "We have someone or something approaching from the road." Realizing who it was he yelled down to them. "It's Glenn!" Rick, Shane, and Daryl ran the last few feet to meet him.

Out of breath and streaked with blood Glenn nearly collapsed, leaning on Rick he told them what had happened. "There were only a few of them. We – I - didn't think and just ran ahead. Rose, she knew… there was so many – like sixty – more like a hundred – maybe even more than that. A couple chased me back here but I put them down – didn't want to lead them back to camp." He gasped out. "Where's Rose?" Daryl demanded. Glenn bent over trying to catch his breath. He paused though when her name was mentioned, turning back to look the way he came. "She was going to follow me…" he trailed off. "Told me to run – she said she'd be right behind me. Then the tanker – I didn't see her do it but she must have… that explosion... how could she live through that?" Glenn looked and felt completely miserable. Rose had volunteered to go, to have his back, and he had run away.

"She couldn't have. So now we have to leave." Shane stated bluntly. The others glared at him for being so cruel about it, though none could argue that he wasn't right. "An explosion that size, with that many walkers about, would be near impossible for a normal person to live through." Rick sighed, turning to head back to camp; his arm slung around Glenn's shoulders, supporting the boy.

"It's a good thing I'm not a normal person then!" a voice called out behind them. Whipping around none of the men could hold back a smile at the sight of the girl, coated in walker blood, gripping her knife tightly. "What the fuck are we standing around for? We got to go!" she announced pushing past them, a small smile playing across her lips.

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**Please leave a review, they fuel my drive to write. Hope you liked the chapter.**


	9. Third Times The Charm

**First snow of the year when I woke up this morning. I feel like a little kid in wonderland. **

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Daryl, Rick, Glenn, and Shane followed Rose back up towards the camp; reveling in the feeling of gratitude of both their people returning safe. "Come on. Lets go. Hurry your asses up those fuckers were right behind me. She yelled back over her shoulder at the men.

Reaching the convoy Rick stopped to take a head count. "Okay people lets hit the road." He hollered. Ed threw his smoke on the ground and started to walk towards the forest. "Hey where the fuck are you going?" Shane questioned the large man. "Got to take a fucking piss." He yelled back. "We don't have time for that we have to go now." Rose pleaded. "I'll only be a fucking second, woman." Was his response. "Ed, please. I think we should go." Carol piped up. "Well I don't give a fuck what you think. I need to take a leak and I am going to right now bitch."

Rick swore loudly turning around to keep watch of the road while Ed walked off to the edge of the forest to do his business. The sound Rose knew was inevitable soon rung throughout the clearing, the sound of a man screaming in agony. Running forward with Rick, Daryl, T-Dog, and Shane at her heels, Rose threw herself at the Walker on Ed. Grabbing it around the neck she yanked it backwards, overcorrected, and ended up with the flesh eater now on top of herself.

Trapped underneath the walker all she could do was keep her grip around its neck to hold its back pinned to her front, out of biting range. The escape from the walkers at the fueling station had left her feeling weak and sore. Rose's mind wandered to Milo, who would care for him if she didn't make it? This was the second time in the same day were she was facing a seemingly inescapable ending. But then again in this world what day didn't have its risks.

Then suddenly the walker was being pulled off her. Lying on her back, blinking up at the tree canopy, Daryl stared down at her. At first her brain didn't process that he was yelling. Then the world came back into focus. The sound of screams and moans erupted through the air. Daryl yarded her up to standing position and started half dragging her back to the cars at a run.

Chaos reined in the camp. The walkers from the gas station had reached them. People were shouting and darting through the undead that surrounding them. Seeing Milo and some of the other children huddled up against the RV she made a bee line to them; stabbing any walkers in the brain if the got to close. Reaching them she positioned herself between the walkers and the children.

"Sophia is over there. You have to help her." Carl wailed, pointing towards the Peletier's Jeep Cherokee. Standing on the roof, with walkers surrounding her, was the small girl. Hesitating for only a second to give Carl instructions, Rose started running off to help the little girl.

Picking up a handful of rocks, Rose started tossing them at the heads of the walkers surrounding the Jeep. "Oye, ya fuckers should pick on someone more your size." She bellowed.

The attack took only a few minutes, though it felt like hours to all involved. Only a fraction of the original herd seemed to have followed Glenn and Rose.

Rick wearily moved from person to person checking for injuries and seeing if anyone was missing. He soon realized that there had been a few fatalities in the group. Though Rose had pulled the walker off him Ed had been bitten and died from the blood loss during the fight. Both Jacqui and Jim were bitten, while alive in the moment both were fading fast. The infection seemed to work faster when there was prolific blood loss.

The group crowded around the dying to say goodbye. Daryl hung back a bit, not one for emotional goodbyes. Feeling a light tugging on his jeans he looked down to see Milo's tear streaked face staring up at him. Daryl felt his heart leap into his throat, looking around he realized what person was not among the group.

"Has anyone seen Rose?" He questioned, trying to keep his voice calm. Sophia, huddled in her mothers arms, burst into tears. "She was trying to save me. I was stuck on top of the Jeep and she led them off – threw rocks at them until they were interested in her then told me to get to the RV. I jumped down and when I looked back they were chasing her off into the woods." She sobbed.

Rick and Shane exchanged a look. The girl had been exhausted, already having to fight for her life twice that day they both knew how unlikely it would be for her to survive with a few of them chasing her down. Neither wanting to voice it they refused to meet anyone's eyes. "We got to find her. She saved me." Sophia cried. "She saved me too." Glenn announced.

Shane sighed; he hated how Rick always made him be the bad guy. "Look she's out there with only a knife against who knows how many walkers. I just don't see her fighting her way out of this one." He said bluntly. Stricken with grief all Carl could do was hold out the shiny buck knife he had been grasping. "She told me to keep the other kids safe if any got to close." He said with tears streaming down his face.

Daryl Was already quickly moving around the camp pulling his arrows out of the dead. "I'm gonna go find her." He mumbled angrily. He had seen the look Shane and Rick had exchanged, even after she had saved so many of there lives they were going to leave her out there. "Daryl..." Rick said gently. "I don't want to fucking hear it, Rick. We aren't leaving her." He said in a low tone, threatening him to try to stop him.

"We have to leave now" Shane insisted. "So either get on your bike and lets go, or good luck on your own." He hissed. It was Glenn who broke through the death glares shooting between Daryl and Shane. "We can't leave right away. We can't just leave our own just lying around. We need to bury our dead." Glenn said with finality. There were murmurs of agreement following his statement.

Running his hand through his hair Rick nodded his head. "We'll stay long enough to bury the dead. Daryl you have that long to look for Rose. Soon as we're ready we will leave." Daryl nodded his head in understanding. "And take a walky talky with you. We'll call you when we finish." Rick said.

Taking Rose's knife from Carl, Daryl was soon disappearing into the forest with his crossbow at the ready.

* * *

**So the reason I didn't post this chapter right away was because I was having trouble trying to figure out whether to kill Glenn or not. As you can tell I choose to let him live... for now ;)**

**Sorry this chapters so short. I promise to post really soon so just hold on. **


	10. Dead (Wo)Man Walking

**Sorry for not posting. Promise I won't wait this long between chapters ever again.**

**So this story kinda follows the storyline but with some events out of order; something's don't happen at all, other events are different then in the show. **

**Big thanks to ****Leyshla Gisel**** and ****FanFicGirl10**** for reviewing almost every chapter. Your reviews are greatly appreciated. And thanks to all who have, or may in the future, review.**

* * *

A man stalks his prey through the dense bush. Glimpses of a beautiful buck tease him. He had been tracking this beast for miles and couldn't wait to bring it back to his awaiting group. He was getting closer; the buck had stopped to nibble on some leaves of a huckleberry bush. Raising his gun he took aim; the beast in his sights. Suddenly an arm shot out of the brush and grabbed the man's ankle, dragging him down to the hard-packed earth.

* * *

Daryl's head shot up at the sound of a gunshot piercing the cool late afternoon air. He had been tracking Rose for the past half-hour without much luck. The weather had been dry leaving the ground cracked and near impossible to track on. It didn't help that the walkers that had been after her had wandered off when they couldn't catch her. The tracks would suddenly veer off into the woods when a walker was distracted by the promise of easier food. It was impossible for Daryl to tell if he was even still following Rose's trail.

As time passed he knew the chances of finding her alive were slipping into the single digits. Daryl felt a flutter of hope when he heard the shot ringing out over the forest. It was quickly crush when he remembered Rose didn't have a gun on her, hell she didn't even have a knife. But never less Daryl found his feet striding in the direction of the gunfire. "Two…three...four" he counted off every time another shot was fired. Whoever was firing was going to have a herd on them if they didn't stop announcing to the world their position. Daryl still continued towards the noise even though he knew it would soon be a bloodbath. He had no other leads to where Rose had gone and the gunshots were coming only a little to the west of where he was.

Static buzzed over the walky attached to his hip. "Daryl, you okay? What's with the shots?" Rick's strained voice echoed through the speakers. Lifting the clunky hunk of plastic to his lips, Daryl answered him. "S'not me; too big of a caliber. Probably a double barrel shotgun or something from the pause between reloading." There was a long silence, before Daryl heard from Rick again; the tiredness is Rick's voice was evident. "Daryl… did you…?" he questioned gently. "I'm on my way back. Don't know if those shots have attacked a herd or somethin'. I'll be back soon." Daryl said gruffly, mentally pleading with Rick to just drop it. He had failed to find her and didn't need anyone making him feel anymore shitty then he already was.

"I'll see you soon then." Rick wearily replied.

* * *

Daryl soon realized that his feet had yet again pointed him towards the direction of the gunshot. Deciding it was close enough that he could still make it back to camp by nightfall, even with a little detour, he started to run.

Daryl ran blindly through the forest, darting around trees and rocks at the last second. He was running full tilt when he collided with something that had been in a hurry as well. Both involved in the collision were thrown to the ground. Daryl was first on his feet, knife in hand. He pounced on the still dazed figure. Raising his knife Daryl was stopped by another body colliding with his own.

Pinning the new attacker to the ground he was surprised when it spoke. "Oye! Stop that." Now that he knew it was in fact, a person, Daryl pushed himself up onto his knees. Reaching forward Daryl gently swept the girls curtain of long brown hair back; praying this wasn't one of God's sick jokes. Silvery eyes stared back at him. "I was so sure you were dead." He mumbled. The reunion was cut short by the sound of a low moan. Daryl quickly jumped to his feet to defend them against a walker only to see that it was coming from the body lying on the ground that he had first collided with.

"The fuck you do to him?" Rose smacked Daryl lightly before walking over to where the man was lying. "Hey Otis, you 'k?" she asked nudging him with her foot. "This kind gentleman saved me from the walkers and you went and smacked him around for it? Ought to be ashamed." Rose teased. Reaching down Rose grasped Otis's arm and hauled him up to standing position. "Come on. Gotta go. There are walkers on our ass, remember?" she slipped an arm under his shoulder and started leading him back towards camp at a fast clip.

Daryl was in shock. He had been so sure that he was looking for a body and yet here she was, completely unharmed other than a few cuts and bruises from running through the woods. "Ya comin'?" Rose yelled back over her shoulder. "I wasn't kidding about the walkers on our ass." Rose and Otis waited for Daryl to get to his feet and catch up with them. "How…?" Daryl questioned, still not able to absorb the fact that Rose wasn't dead. "Can we discuss this later? I want to get back to camp and then get the hell out of here. Otis's gunshots were like ringing a dinner bell for all those flesh munching bastards." She pleaded.

* * *

The sun was just setting when the trio arrived back at camp. Dale was the first to spot them emerging from the forest. "He found her…" he murmured before raising his voice to announce their presence to the rest of the group. "He found her! Daryl found Rose!" he yelled from the roof of the RV. The group all rushed over to greet the returning people. Milo threw himself into Rose's arms, burying his head in her stomach he refused to let go.

"Takes a lot more than a few walkers to kill me; been in worse situations before." She laughed, trying to assure the group that she was fine. Looking around she realized some familiar faces were missing. "Who did we lose?" she asked, suddenly serious. "Jacqui, Jim, and Ed are dead. We buried them over there on the hill." Rick said wearily, pointing in the directions of the fresh graves. Rose nodded solemnly. Rose lead Rick, Daryl, Otis and Shane away from the rest of the group. "Otis can you tell them what you told me?" she said turning to the portly man trailing behind her. "I got a group too. On the other side of this here forest. We got a farm, plenty of food. You'll have to take the highway but your welcome to come stay with us if ya wish." He said shyly, scuffing his shoe in the dirt.

"Well that's mighty kind of you Otis. What do the rest of you think about that?" Rick asked looking around at the others. Nods and other conformations of approval were shown all around. "I think we should spend the night here and then head out in the morning. We'll pile all the women and children into the RV, the men will keep watch." Rick said looking for another sign of approval. "I can help keep watch." Rose said, clearly offended that Rick seemed to think she was less capable then the men in taking care of the group. "I know you can Rose, but you're exhausted, you have been through a lot today. I though you could benefit from a little shut eye." Rick explained gently. Rose didn't protest to his explanation. To be honest she knew that she really needed sleep. Every muscle in her body ached.

The council dispersed, and made their way back towards the main group to inform them of the decision to stay the night and then make their way to the farm the next day.

* * *

**I had a lot of trouble with this chapter. Still don't like how it turned out. **

**So this story kinda follows the storyline but with some events out of order; something's don't happen at all, other events are different then in the show. **

**Big thanks to Leyshla Gisel and FanFicGirl10 for reviewing almost every chapter. Your reviews are greatly appreciated. And thanks to all who have, or may in the future, review. **

A man stalks his prey through the dense bush. Glimpses of a beautiful buck tease him. He had been tracking this beast for miles and couldn't wait to bring it back to his awaiting group. He was getting closer; the buck had stopped to nibble on some leaves of a huckleberry bush. Raising his gun he took aim; the beast in his sights. Suddenly an arm shot out of the brush and grabbed the man's ankle, dragging him down to the hard-packed earth.

Daryl's head shot up at the sound of a gunshot piercing the cool late afternoon air. He had been tracking Rose for the past half-hour without much luck. The weather had been dry leaving the ground cracked and near impossible to track on. It didn't help that the walkers that had been after her had wandered off when they couldn't catch her. The tracks would suddenly veer off into the woods when a walker was distracted  
by the promise of easier food. It was impossible for Daryl to tell if he was even still following Rose's trail.

As time passed he knew the chances of finding her alive were slipping into the single digits. Daryl felt a flutter of hope when he heard the shot ringing out over the forest. It was quickly crush when he remembered Rose didn't have a gun on her, hell she didn't even have a knife.


End file.
